Snap up a top prize in our photo competition

This is an archived press release

Amateur photographers are being encouraged to enter a national photography competition to be in with a chance of winning a digital camera or a high resolution bird box camera system.

The competition is organised by the Community Science team at the Moors for the Future Partnership in the Peak District National Park.

This year the theme is 'Water in the Uplands' and entries are invited in two categories: Adults, and age 15 or under.

The winners will be selected by a panel of judges, including Kate MacRae (Wildlife Kate).

The winner of the adults category will receive a high resolution bird box camera system worth £99 - courtesy of Gardenature, plus a Community Science t-shirt.

The winner of the age 15 and under category will receive a Nikon Coolpix W100 waterproof digital camera worth £130 - courtesy of Harrison Cameras, plus a Community Science t-shirt.

Four runners up will each receive a Community Science t-shirt.

The winning entries, runners up and selected photos from the short-list will also be on display in a touring exhibition next year.

Community Science project manager Sarah Proctor said: “Following the wonderful entries we received last year I can’t wait to see the watery images captured for this year’s competition. Water is such an integral part of healthy uplands – making Blanket Bogs boggy – we couldn’t resist making it this year’s focus.”

The ‘Water in the Uplands' theme can be interpreted as photographers see fit, but the judges will be looking for beautiful, interesting and innovative photos which show off this aspect of the British countryside.

The competition is intended to highlight the importance of healthy uplands to improving water quality and reducing flood risk.

Mark Haslam of the Environment Agency – one of the project’s partners – said: “We’re thrilled to partner with the Community Science team. The greater appreciation people have about climate change on our moors, the better prospect we have of sustaining a healthy moorland environment and its many benefits into the future. Photography is a great way to showcase the uplands that most of our water flows from.”

Community Science, run by the Moors for the Future Partnership, is supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund. It is gathering together volunteers from local communities to become citizen scientists – recording valuable information about how our moorland environment and its wildlife are changing over time.